Heartscape
by hamstamasta
Summary: [AU Squffie] Squall Leonhart is a lieutenant in the government organization called Shinra, which is warring with the magicians of Avalanche. He's sick of his life, but what happens when he meets an Avalanche ninja who changes his views on everything?
1. Lonely Road

_Hooray, it's a new story! I'll still be updating "A Web of Destiny" but I wanted to try a kind of story that I've never seen in the Squffie section before, and so here it is. _

_Summary: Squall Leonhart is sick of his life. He's a lieutenant in the government organization called Shinra, which is in a war to eradicate the magicians of Avalanche who rebel against the emperor. With nothing but a bloody past behind him and an unhappy future ahead, Squall considers leaving it all behind, but what happens when he meets an Avalanche ninja who changes his view on everything? [AU Squffie]_

_My One-Time Disclaimer: I don't own anyone whose name you recognize; they all belong to Square, Disney, and other billion dollar companies that, sadly, aren't mine._

---

Heartscape

Chapter 1 – That Lonely Road

The canvas tent was stifling, heavy and humid with the night air. A fan hummed in the corner, churning the cigarette smoke in useless circles. In the center of the earthen floor stood a simple wooden table, covered with a cacophony of maps, scrolls, and typed paper.

The tent flap pushed open, revealing for a moment a sky encrusted with stars, before being blocked out by the figure of a man, his russet bangs partially screening stormy blue eyes and a thin scar.

"Ah, Lieutenant Leonhart…You're late."

"My apologies, sir." The newcomer lit a cigarette and took his place among the assembly of other high-ranking military officers.

"As I was saying," continued the general. "Avalanche's forces are weakened. Tomorrow, we'll move a quarter of our forces to attack at Wutai." He jabbed a red pin into the small dot that symbolized the village. "This is crucial to our control of the entire continent – the rebel leader Godo is residing there. The troops in tomorrow's attack will be Troop 543 Kramer, 735 Adam, 106 Jachi, 665 Valentine, and 982 Leonhart. The rest of you will be moving on towards Katakari." Sephiroth snapped his log shut, his icy gaze running over the heads of the other men like a December breeze. "Dismissed."

Squall was the first out of the stuffy tent. He strode away from the steady stream of generals and lieutenants exiting the makeshift headquarters until he could no longer hear their raucous laughter and meaningless conversation. The scar-faced lieutenant finally stopped on a hill, and surveyed the landscape. Grass spread out before him, a sea of green unblemished by trees, rippling in the breeze like a single entity. The ebony sky glittered with hundreds of stars, hanging in the twilight like effervescent diamonds. Far into the distance, the fire and lanterns of Wutai could be seen as a clump of yellowish light. He lit another cigarette, and stood serenely on the plain.

"Not like the city, is it?" Another man joined his thoughtful meditation, his blond hair sticking up like an abstract sculpture. The man wore a navy, sleeveless outfit, a huge blade hanging off of his back. He spoke with an accent different from Squall's, quietly but firmly through a red cape wrapped around his neck and hanging down his shoulders.

"No, it's not. There's no smoke, no garbage, no crowds."

The blond sat beside him, stretching out his long legs while running his mechanical hand slowly through the wispy grass. "So, how did the meeting go?"

"Cloud, don't ask stupid questions. You and I both know that Sephiroth has been eyeing Wutai for weeks now." Cloud shrugged and picked at the lawn with his sharp claws. Squall eyed the reclusive man, wondering what he was thinking. The mercenary had joined Shinra only recently, for reasons he didn't know of. The young man had quickly become his only friend here.

"Here's another stupid question," offered Cloud. "How's it going with Rinoa?"

Squall yanked the cigarette out of his mouth and snuffed it out with the heel of his boot. "Damn, you know I hate her. The clingy little whore won't leave me alone. I told her we were over, but she can't get anything through her thick skull."

Cloud shook his head, blond hair swaying. He could feel his friend's despair and bitterness, and his weakening grip on the good things in life. Unless something changed, Squall would soon be only the shell of a person, the life sucked out of him by his own unhappiness.

---

The brunette ninja crept through the long grass leading to the meeting place. For the fifth time during the short journey, she raised her head to look at the distance lights of the Shinra camp. Instinctively her hand touched the drawstrings of her shuriken pouch, the jangle of the sharp metal soothing her nerves.

She reached the clearing, a meadow splattered with shadow, moonlight beaming through the trees. Yuffie stepped forwards, before she sensed a powerful aura stalking behind the trunks. The shinobi swung up her conformer to block the attack of the enemy, claws clanking against metal. The silvery form of a wolf danced nimbly away from the girl, pausing in the pale light to regard her.  
  
Yuffie allowed herself to slip out of her battle stance, smiling at the majestic blue-eyed beast before her. "Having fun, Riku?"  
  
The wolf's black lips pulled back into a canine grin. _Well, actually, I am. _A cloud of white mist spiraled around the animal and receded, revealing a tall, silver haired boy with aquamarine eyes. He wore baggy navy pants and a skin tight yellow shirt that showed his powerful stomach muscles. He grinned and leaned back against the nearest tree, folding his arms over his chest.  
  
Yuffie twirled a shuriken lazily around her index finger. "Riku, your transformations are getting better. You almost hit me that time, unlike the rest of your pathetic attempts at an ambush!"  
  
He tossed his white hair over his shoulder with a snort. "Yeah? If you're so great at detection, how come you didn't notice Sora?"  
  
The ninja spun around just in time to see the pounce of the chestnut wolf behind her. It easily knocked her down, sending her tumbling into the grass and fallen leaves with a shriek of surprise. The canine's momentum carried it over Yuffie, before it turned with a gleeful bark and became a grinning, red-clad boy. His azure eyes shone with innocent glee. "That's another point for me!" he laughed.  
  
Disgruntled, the ninja picked herself off of the ground, glaring promises of pain at Sora and Riku, who gave each other completely indiscreet high fives. Though the boys were two of her closest friends, nothing was worse than being upped by them. "If everyone's done jumping me, can we leave now? We were supposed to head off an hour ago. Godo's gonna chew us out if we don't get the info he needs!"  
  
The two boys gave her a mock salute. "Yes ma'am!" they chorused like obedient schoolboys. She rolled her eyes and began the transformation  
  
Smoke swirled around them. Where three shinobi once stood, there stood three wolves -- gleaming silver, magnificent sienna, and a lithe chocolate. On silent paws, they raced from the clearing and into the high, concealing grasses of the field.  
  
They loped up the slope, away from the flickering fires of the village and towards the enemy camp, Yuffie leading the pack. The wolves slowed to a trot as the electric lights of the tents loomed closer, sniffing the winds for clues.  
  
_Stop! _Yuffie cried telepathically. Riku and Sora came to a halt, crouching low and looking to her for commands. _Look, _she said, gesturing with her snout. Two men sat atop a hill, looking out towards Wutai. She quickly scanned them, assessing their clothes. One didn't wear the Shinra uniform -- a mercenary. The other wore the scarlet uniform of a lieutenant. With her sharp wolf eyes, she could see sapphire eyes through his long russet bangs. His rippling muscles and stony expression were a testament to his strength and hardships. The warrior carried a strong masculine smell -- something spicy and dangerous. Something about his aura pulled her, like the meeting of opposite magnets. Something alluring, powerfully so, and she lifted a paw to slink closer only to be stopped by a sharp hiss from Riku.

_What the hell do you think you're doing? We're not here to pick up boyfriends. Don't get us caught -- remember we're here for their enemy plans! What kind of squad leader are you?  
  
_Yuffie snapped out of her daze, immediately feeling a mental flush of embarrassment for getting so distracted by a guy and being so easily read by Riku. With a huff and a last look at the mysterious man, she glided ghostlike towards the biggest tent, followed by her team.   
  
They had a mission to accomplish.  
  
---  
  
An echoing gunshot sent Cloud and Squall scrambling down the hill towards camp. A chaotic scene met their eyes - collapsed tents, soldiers yelling, puddles of blood glistening in the grass, explosions taking fiery bites out of the ground, gun smoke hovering over everything.   
  
"Enemy attack! We're under enemy attack!" screamed one man, holding his bleeding leg.  
  
"Cease fire!" someone else yelled.

"Someone's stolen the attack plans!" squealed someone else.  
  
"Lieutenant! Your weapon, sir!" The brown-haired man caught the cool steel handle of his Gunblade from one of the soldiers in his squadron.  
  
"Aerith!" cried Cloud. He dashed off towards the medical tents, leaving Squall amid the disaster. Squall was about to follow when something burst from he nearest tent. Three figures raced away, heading towards Wutai. He chased after them, wielding his Gunblade at the ready as he moved. The lead form clutched what looked like a large scroll – the attack plans. _I don't think so, _he thought venomously .Carefully taking aim, he shot.  
  
Yuffie howled in agony as a bullet ripped through her right hind leg. Stumbling, she collapsed in the grass, blood pooling out of the injured limb as the scroll rolled a few feet away. Sora and Riku came skidding to her side, panting and foaming at the mouth. _You idiots, _she screamed. _Go!  
  
Not without you! _wailed Sora. He tried to squirm under her to haul her onto his back. Another shower bullet landed in the ground near his head, sending up a spray of dirt and shredded grass.   
  
_You don't have a choice. You can't cast Curaga -- there's no time! Leave him to me, I'll be fine! _the female shinobi yelped. Riku hesitated even as yet another shot nearly killed him, looking at her with uncharacteristically mournful eyes. _He's closing in and he's got reinforcements on the way, and it won't do us any good if we all get caught! GO!_  
  
The white wolf gave the slightest of nods, before clamping his jaws around the info. With a last painful look at their fallen comrade, the two wolves fled into the night, carrying the secrets of Shinra with them.

Squall halted, cursing as he watched the remaining two disappear into the twilight. A knife suddenly blazed by him, nearly slicing off an ear. She glared at him with furious sienna eyes, before flicking three more kunai at his face. The Gunblade wielder dodged easily to the left.

"It's just you and me now," he said smugly. "And there's not much you can do with a mangled limb, is there?"

"Shut up, Shinra trash!" The ninja rushed to attack with her huge shuriken, but Squall's sword flashed, and she was knocked aside by the flat of his blade.

"Where'd you friends run off to? They can't go far on foot," commented Squall, hefting his glowing Overdrive Gunblade over his shoulder.

"You dope, of course they're not running off on feet! They've gone off on paws – and your sucky little Shinra trucks can't catch two wolves in the forest." She flipped off of the grass, picking up her Conformer again.

"Your friends are wolves, huh? I don't believe in talking animals or transforming people, or any of your Avalanche garbage."

Yuffie wiped the blood that was dribbling out from underneath her silver headband. Her right leg awarded her with a pang of pain, and she collapsed again. She scowled at the handsome man in front of her, gripping the oozing wound with a gloved hand. _What was so great about him before? He's nothing but a demon with a nice face!_

A roar startled the two fighters. Heading towards them ripped a loud convoy of Shinra vehicles, destroying the tranquility of the nighttime plains.

_They must've seen the light from his weapon! _Yuffie's vision started to go fuzzy. _I've lost too much blood already…_She took a final glance at the night sky – the thousands of glittering eyes embedded in black face of the night sky.

_Captured by the enemy…_she thought as she passed out. _What a great way to start the week._

---

_Next chapter: Yuffie's been captured by Shinra: three guesses as to who her interrogator is!_

_Author's Note: Squall's Overdrive doesn't count as magic. Also, when people transform regular wounds heal, unless the injury involves bullets or something else that stays in the body, such as poison. _

_And now that you've read -- Review!_


	2. Follow the Leader

_Alright, here's chapter 2! I'm SO sorry it took so long to get out, but it was the end of the school year, so I was bogged down with billions of finals, projects, and other various educational evils. Accursed IB program… but now it's summer vacation, and I can write till I explode (at least when I'm not at evil career classes, which keep me gone for 12 hours a day)! Hooray!_

---

Heartscape

Chapter 2: Bolero of Phantoms

---

The sun clambered onto the horizon and stretched its shining rays over the smoggy, jagged landscape of the city. Its golden-red arms warmed the cracked concrete of the streets and the gleaming windows of the high-rises. Light wriggled its way into every crevice of the damp, alleviating the steamy fog that crept nightly over the ground. Heat and light pounced and devoured the shadow and cold, eventually shining past steel bars and into the blood-encrusted hair of the splayed form on the prison floor.

The dance of the sun on forced Yuffie's eyelids open, and for a moment she wondered where she was, lying on a stone floor and watching the sunrays reach for her between the bars of a window far, far above. The memories of the night before hit her…

_The botched mission…_

_Riku's and Sora's frightened eyes…_

_The scar-faced man…_

_Darkness…_

_An overly bright room, with leering faces of men she did not recognize, their questions and interrogations as sharp as fangs…_

_The whip, the fists, the…_

… and then the pain returned, hitting her harder than a swing to the head with a metal baseball bat. Yuffie hardly had the sense to reign in a scream as her agony arched up her limbs. Instinctively, like a young child for its mother, she reached for the raw, cold mind of the wolf, knowing its animalistic mind could help shield her from the pain. Yuffie uttered a soft prayer as she felt the wolf instinct join her, a familiar friend – though she could not change into her other, injured form, to be with the familiar senses of the wolf was better than nothing.

She focused on her body, which ached with a dull, disconnected pain. Yuffie twitched each limb, growling with dissatisfaction when she felt her leg reward her with throbs instead of movements. The ninja could feel the scabs solidifying along her back and shoulders, and the burning welts on her neck and face. Her shuriken and kunai pouches were gone. _If only I'd been able to kill that lieutenant, the smirking little bastard, I wouldn't be in this mess… When I catch that stupid guy, I'm gonna pull of every one of his limbs and eat them…_

The walls consisted of stone, three-feet thick and impossible to break without weapons. Above, a high window set with steel bars and plexiglass winked in the early morning light. No chance of escape_. _Her heightened hearing caught the sound of boots clacking on stone, heading towards her cell. Body stiffened, she deciphered the noises: a light, casual footstep, followed by two heavy, thicker ones.

The steel door swung open, and Yuffie was not at all happy to see the object of her despise striding into the room, anger darting across his face. He was followed by a young lady wearing a white nurses' uniform and a smile, a large, pink ribbon tying her auburn hair, and an expressionless spiky-haired blond who kicked the door shut with his heel upon entering. Yuffie shifted her heavy shackled wrists so that she could lace her fingers together in her lap. Every muscle cried out in agony at even the smallest movements, but she couldn't appear weak in front of the enemy.

"Good morning," said the nurse, full of calm politeness. The ninja stretched her awareness to feel the woman's aura, a sea of green tranquility. The wolf instinct trusted this woman immediately, but Yuffie did not. This person was a born healer, but part of Shinra, though if Yuffie hadn't known better, she would have thought that this lady was…

"There's no time for pleasantries, Aerith," commanded the lieutenant. He appeared restless, as though he didn't want to be in the cell with the prisoner. Squall leaned back against the rugged wall, lowering his head so that his long bangs covered his vision.

Caution in her brown eyes, the shinobi examined Aerith as she cupped her hands above Yuffie's head. An ethereal green light leaked from her palms, washing healing luminance over the younger girl's wounds.

"You can do magic?" blurted the ninja, staring wide-eyed at the smiling woman.

"Yes," she replied, calmly drawing away from the surprised girl. The sunlight dribbling through the plexiglass lit her auburn hair aflame. "But as you must know, Shinra is not an organization that believes in the use of such abilities. I'd be grateful if you didn't mention this to any of the officers."

Yuffie's eyebrows went up at such honesty, and she jerked a thumb at the brunette who was still leaning against the wall, a mask of frigid indifference nestled on his handsome face. "What about that guy? He's a lieutenant; can't he get you fired for this?"

"The only reason I tolerate this… this _abnormality_ of hers," growled the man, his fierce azure eyes suddenly fixed on Yuffie, "is because this idiot here asked me to." He shot a glance at the blond man, who ignored the comment. The nurse and her yellow-haired friend made their exit, the steel door snapping firmly shut behind them.

She turned to the man, eyeing him cautiously as she flexed her healed fingers and wrists against the metal shackles. He was still staring at her, as though he couldn't quite figure out what she was. Yuffie scrutinized him. The fine cloth of his uniform did nothing to hide his well built frame, his bitter eyes, or his bad attitude.

"Did ya chicken out of the big fight today?" she nonchalantly asked.

"No," she snarled. "I was reassigned to babysitting a brat like you to get information about future campaigns of Avalanche."

Yuffie blew her bangs away from her face, the way she always did when she was irritated with someone. "How charming of you. Sadly, I'm not really interested in telling you diddly-squat."

"That's a shame. Then I guess I'm not really interested in sparing you some pain." He eased away from the wall, one hand stroking his gleaming sword/gun. "Not that it matters what you say. We know your forces are weak. You're running low on people and supplies. I believe I hear a fat lady singing."

She bit back a sharp retort. She almost blabbed about the bombs, tucked under the foundation of the city, almost leaked about how Avalanche was going to lead Shinra into believing they had won the battle today, and let them return to their wired city to celebrate… _Just change the topic, _Yuffie hissed to herself. _The longer you talk about nothing, the less information he gets. _"Why are you in such a dumb organization like Shinra anyways? It's run by a bunch of crazy old guys who want Ansem to be the emperor 'cause he's giving them money. You know that, don't you?"

"Who doesn't?"

She shrugged, raising her hands a bit in a gesture of surrender. "I guess everyone does. The real question is: why would you work for people like that? It's obvious you're just their pawns. Do you just like getting played or something?"

His eyes narrowed fiercely, their stormy blue depths spitting lighting. "And what should I do instead? Leave civilization and join a bunch of crackpot idiots wandering around in the woods playing magicians?"

"Why you--" for a few moments she seethed with rage at the smirking man before her. How dare he insult her, her friends, her ancestors who had clawed and labored prosperous villages out of the wild mountains? She ground her teeth, counted to ten, and looked up at him with fire in her dark eyes.

"I bet you're getting something out of this too, huh?" she sneered. "What's your cut? Some cash, or a nice condo? Do you think it's right that everyone you injured on the Avalanche side bleeds and dies and suffers so that you can ride around in a shiny new convertible?"

Stone crumbled as his fist hit the wall right above her head. She quivered slightly. His face was only inches away from hers, she could feel the soft puffs of his breath, smell his spicy cologne, and see the rage glowing in his sapphire eyes. "Don't you ever," he growled, "_ever _pretend like you know what I went through." With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out, the door crashing shut behind him.

---

Anyone who saw them would think they were dogs. Pacing through the dismal alleys, under the protection of the shadows, noses pressed against the ground or pointed at the sky, sniffing with the delicacy of a wine connoisseur. From afar they looked like hungry canines on the lookout for a meal, but at close range, one would realize that they weren't street mutts at all.

They were wolves.

_Oil and smoke is like water and air here, _shivered the younger brown wolf. He padded quietly after his friend, intimidated by the crashing disharmony of the city. _I can't pick up a scent at all._

Riku was silent. Sora observed his silver companion as he pushed his nose against the dirty sidewalk, then tilted his head back as if to howl at the sun. Following suit, they saw the window, high above the ground.

_She's here?_

_She's here. _

---

He fed a dollar into the drink machine and fetched his cold red Coke from the dispenser. Brushing his long bangs from his eyes, Squall strolled down the corridor, taking a sip, absorbing the sights of busy people rushing around the military building. Essence City had been built solely to house the politicians and military personnel who supported Shinra's newly implemented government. Originally, Essence was being built as a shelter city for orphans, the homeless, and the like, but money had been dropped and exchanged behind closed doors and suddenly the strategic location near Avalanche's base was bustling with generals and senators. It made him sick.

Lieutenant Leonhart stalked down the halls, dodging harried secretaries with greasy bags of French fries and deli sandwiches. He was heading towards the elevator that would take him back down to the prisoners' quarters. He wouldn't let that girl push him around.

He leaned back into the steel wall of the elevator and crammed fists against his tired eyelids. Of course he knew that backing a corrupt government was wrong. He knew that slaughtering people just because their way of life was different was also wrong. Everything about the whole damned war was wrong, and he knew it.

But he couldn't betray the ghosts of his past_._ It was because of Avalanche that his family had been butchered. And he'd promised himself -- as he watched his mother take her last, dying breath – that he would find whoever was responsible. And until that day, when he could bring his blade smashing through the skull of the Avalanche bastard responsible for slaughtering his entire town – he would let no one call him Squall. Squall was a weak, scared little boy who could do nothing to save his family from their murderer. Leon, however, could and _would _do exactly that.

A soft noise distracted him from his mental self-loathing. Something was scratching furiously at the plexiglass of the Avalanche girl's cell. Clenching his Gunblade tightly, he confronted the two animals who'd been whittling away at the walls. They were huge and sleek, easily the size of perhaps a lion or jaguar.

The wolves circled him, moving in his peripheral vision. Drool slid from between their bared teeth like slippery eels before splattering onto the cement floor. Squall raised the Gunblade to defend, its metal edge glinting under the flickering fluorescent lights.

With the force of a gale, the white wolf pounced at his left arm. The Gunblade soared through the air, forcing the creature to twist in midair to dodge. Pain shot up his other arm as he felt the brown wolf's fangs sink deep into his flesh. It jerked its massive head back and forth, yanking his body to the ground as blood spurted out of the wound with sprays of mortal red. Squall staggered, his stormy blue eyes sharp as the white wolf filled his vision, jaws opens as it aimed for his jugular. Snarling, he kicked out at the beast, flinching as he felt teeth tear through his leather boots and into his foot. He rolled clumsily, trying to shoot, but his torn tendons and crushed bones wouldn't pull the trigger. Fur bristling, they took places opposite of him, glaring at him with eyes like embers. His blood created a sloppy mess on the stone floor.

Without warning, an eruption of sound and fire annihilated the standoff's silence and a chunk of the wall. Shards of debris punched through the plexiglass, hurtled by flame and air. On nimble paws the wolves skittered toward their companion, ignoring the man completely. With a sweep of his body and a snap of his teeth, the silver wolf broke the shackles and lifted Yuffie to his back as she gripped firmly at his white ruff. Another explosion screamed through the air nearby, and the smoke pouring in from the ruined walls thickened and blackened. Waves of coughs gripped his lungs, and Squall sunk to the floor once more, the combined blood loss and heavy air tilting him towards the realm of unconsciousness.

His ears vaguely grasped a voice yelling through the smog, "We can't leave him here."

_Why the heck not? He would've killed us. He would've killed you too! _shouted another voice, laden with broiling anger.

"He knows too much," hacked Yuffie, pulling her silver bandana over her mouth to block out the noxious fumes. She prayed that Riku wouldn't be able to hear the desperation in her voice as she pleaded for the life of a person she'd known for hardly a day.

A pause in the noise, filled by the sound of crackling heat and crumbling concrete, before Squall felt himself lifted onto the back of something large and furry.

_Hold on, _said the voice of a young man in his head. He heard nothing else as he slid into a injury-induced sleep.

- - -

His vision warbled for a moment like a disturbed reflection in a pool, before coming into sharp and painful focus. Body throbbing, Squall lifted his head slightly off the wolf's back to survey the landscape.

Mist blanketed everything, dragging at a legato pace. A pungent smell hovered over the entire area, something sweet that smelled of death and dew; the rhythmic slink of the animal underneath him furthered his agony. For a confused moment, he wondered why the grass looked red. Raising his head further, he stared at the hideous aftermath of the battle.

Bodies lay in the tall grass, limbs missing, oozing trickles of blood. A nearby corpse caught his eye, and he stared into the sad blank eyes of a wolf, its legs sticking up, the paws tearing at the bleak grey sky. The mountains loomed in the distance, seeming to lean in and gawk at the macabre scene.

Squall closed his eyes, and let his face fall against the mire of warm wolf fur. There had only been Avalanche bodies. Only the enemy lay still in the battlefield. He should have felt relief, maybe even triumph.

Instead, all he could feel was disquiet silence in his heart, an elegy to the dead.

- - -

_Next chapter: Squall's life at the Avalanche village begins – plenty of Squffie ahead! Yes!_

_And now that you've read… review!_


	3. Silver Bullets

_Ah, here's chapter three, and with it, I'm giving you four apologies, before I even say anything else. First of all, I'm really, REALLY sorry it's taking me so long to get these out. But I have to do community service hours, and wake up at five and get home at five, leaving me not much time for anything else. I'm going to try to take a few days off soon to polish off the next chapter._

_Apology number two: I've never played FF7. Don't have any idea about Godo or his behavior. So I made everything up... My bad! Apology number three: you guys will want to kill me at the end of this chapter. When you get to the last few paragraphs and you say something along the lines of "hell no!" and your hand starts twitching for something to maim me with, try and remember that everything will be ooook. Please refrain from killing the author. Lastly, sorry for not updating _A Web of Destiny _in a while. I will, soon, and I'm also starting a new AU story soon. Don't forget, reviews inspire me to write faster and better!_

_Speaking of reviews… 15 reviews! I'm so happy! Imaginary sodas to all who reviewed! I love you guys!_

_Anyways, my blurb is done. Enjoy! _

---

Heartscape

Chapter 3: Silver Bullets

---

The rain pulsated on the brick roof at a gentle staccato, and the smell of feathers and burning wax floated lightly around the small, wooden room. His eyes cracked open, and the brunette in front of him stopped pacing and peered at him through the dim.

"Hey, you're up," said the owner of the dark brown eyes. The girl was leaning back in her chair, fiddling with a polished shuriken. It glinted in the candlelight like a sharp silver eye. Squall stared blankly at her. In the half-light of the room, he wondered who the elfin face and pretty brown eyes belonged too. Where was he, anyways? Then reality slapped his mind back into focus.

"Oh," he said slowly, as though disappointed. "It's _you_."

Yuffie stood, and put her hands on her hips. "Well, gee, thanks for the warm greeting. Oh, by the way, you're welcome for saving your sorry ass! I shoulda let Riku eat you when I had the chance."

The man tried to raise himself off of the cot, only to be pushed down by a less-than-gentle hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.

"Trying to keep you from reopening your wounds. _Again_. You've been tossing around like a fish out of water for a whole frickin' week. And guess who's stuck in here with you while you toss around like clothes in a washing machine? Me, that's who! So sit your whining ass down before I really give you something to whine about!"

Apparently, the ninja didn't take well to boredom and confinement. He glared at her with fierce azure, which she returned with her own chocolate colored eyes. Finally, he turned his glare up to the ceiling with a huff of irritation and Yuffie knew she had won.

His eyes raked the wood above them, watching the shadows squirm and jump in the candlelight. The girl settled down, snapping the shuriken expertly from between her forefinger and thumb, to catch it with her other hand. The trickles of rain outside turned into a fusillade, beating against the walls and windows like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Do you have a cigarette?" he sighed after a while.

"Nobody here smokes," she responded, eyes fixed on her small weapon as it descended towards her waiting hand. Yuffie stood suddenly, and walked to the door, boots tapping lightly on the wood.

"Where are you going?" he questioned warily, without taking his eyes away from the ceiling.

"To get the healer. Your bandages need to be changed." She poked her head out of the door, and yelled something he couldn't hear – the roaring weather blocked out all noise.

Squall's eyes flickered towards the window. The latch lock was lowered. With a grunt of effort, he swung his legs over the bedside and tried to stand, but his legs were like water. Yuffie turned away from the door, just in time to see Squall grip the bedpost. She rushed over and caught him, just as his unfaithful legs gave out.

"You…idiot…" she mumbled, her arm underneath him to support his greater weight. The cologne she had smelled a few days earlier, scented like spices and wood, came back to her nose with a vengeance. She could feel his every movement and breath as the semi-conscious man leaned more heavily on her, and Yuffie wrapped another arm around his waist as his body continued to slide against her, unknowingly sensual. The foreign sensation was powerful, and Yuffie felt as if… as if…

"Am I interrupting something?" called an amused voice from the doorway.

…As if she could kill him.

The shinobi knew her face looked like a tomato as Aerith helped heft the injured fighter onto the bed. She quickly backed away to the wall, feeling trapped and furious and confused as the healer gently prodded Squall's chest.

Completely unaware of the somewhat embarrassing moment, Squall's half-sleep was interrupted by movement and someone calling him in an oddly familiar, lilting voice.

"Wake up, Leon," the voice gently commanded.

"Aerith?" he moaned. Those sea green eyes were unmistakable as they scanned over his reopened wounds.

"Why are you here… how did you get here?"

She glanced at him as she checked the bandage on his leg. "I flew," she replied simply.

The wheels turned quickly in Squall's mind as he shot her a look of disbelief. "Crap. I can't believe this. Are you…?"

She brushed her long auburn hair away from her face, and busied herself unraveling a bloodied bandage. "Yes, I'm a spy for Avalanche. I was born Katakari though, which is why Yuffie didn't recognize me."

Squall clenched his eyes shut as the anger threatened to boil over. "Is Cloud a spy, too?" the Gunblade user asked, his voice carefully neutral.

"No," she replied, speeding the healing of a bite wound on his muscular arm with a hovering, glowing palm. "But he knew exactly what I was doing when I snuck into the control centers every week. He'll be leaving with me to Katakari once your injuries are completely healed." Aerith moved her hand over his eyes before he could react. The sleep spell forced him into an instant, deep slumber.

"Keep a close watch over him, Yuffie," said the healer as she departed. "We don't know how he'll act once he wakes up."

---

_He felt like he was breathing in fire. The air around him sizzled and popped, embers and ash and smoke clotting in the closed space and stealing the breath away from his very lungs. Everywhere his eyes darted, red flame jumped and ate everything that had been a part of his now smashed childhood. Stepping over the gory body of his slain brother, the boy kicked open his home's door and staggered into a night which seemed to wear the colors of bruises smeared with the grey of smoke, a night when the clouds held the moon hostage in their dark depths, a night when even the stars seemed to have hid from the violence and chaos. _

_Once he was far away enough from the fire, the ten year old helplessly watched his village smother. His only possessions were the clothes on his back and the lion pendant that told the world he was of the Leonhart clan, which now consisted of only him. And a weapon that his father had somberly given him for his ninth birthday, far too heavy for him to heft about for very long. What good had it done to have it, anyways? He'd watched from the closet, where his father had hastily shoved him. He'd watched them harass and torture his mother, and shoot his father and brother point blank. He'd done nothing as his life was destroyed by strangers, soldiers with the disposition of creatures from hell who obliterated everything in his peaceful town. _

_He felt as though someone had force-fed him icy poison, grief tightening his throat like a noose. Turning his singed head to the left, he noted a tall figure standing quite still on the edge of the village's boundaries. The boy's heart fluttered in his rib cage as if it were a small, terrorized bird. Could it be possible someone else had survived the massacre? _

_He raced toward the man as if his life depended on it. Slowing to a halt, he stared, out of breath, at the person's back he faced. Clearly, in the firelight, his eyes and heart had been fooled. The man slowly turned to face him, but his features were obscured by a Aero spell which kept the flames at bay._

_"Who… Who are you?" asked the boy._

_He feels himself go numb as the man's blurry face suddenly breaks into a hungry kind of smile, the kind that predators wore before snapping some unfortunate animal's neck . "Who am I? I am the liege of the mountains. Do you not know me?"_

_The child numbly shakes his head, realization slowly dawning on him. "Did you do this? Did you order those… those people… to burn down the village?"_

_The man's smile, if anything, became hungrier._

_"Of course. I was the artist," he swept a hand toward the blazing village, "who created this loveliness. What's the matter, boy? Do you not like my work?"_

_Anger and fear flitted across Squall's face. His small hands twitch on the leather handle of the Gunblade. "Why… why did you do this!"_

_Laughter filled the night air like a frigid breeze, for what seemed like minutes to the boy. _

_"What's so funny!" he screamed._

_"It's amusing how little you understand," said the man, quite calm once more. "These creatures that lived here were rallying against me. It was necessary, of course." _

_The fury within Squall bared its fangs as he tried to slice open the intruder's stomach, his blade chuffing uselessly against the aero spell. "HOW COULD YOU? How can you kill people you don't even know!" _

_The man's smile didn't budge. "I will tell you how. My eyes and heart and clear. Let us say that one's heart is a landscape. When we are born, this landscape, this heartscape, if you will, is clear, like a meadow in winter, covered in snow. As we grow older and adopt the foolish ideas of companionship, selflessness, love, one's heart grows clouded with ideals, mountains that will block your view, make your mind weak. _

_"My heartscape," he continued, as if explaining a math problem to a student "was once covered with such barricades. But with cunning, I've shed this weakness. The blood of others has eroded these mountains, and now, I am truly perfect. That is why I can kill. My heart allows me to do so." He regarded the russet-haired boy, who panted with exhaustion and grief and rage. With a smile of contempt, his hand suddenly snapped out across the child's face, and Squall collapsed, a small gash across the bridge of his nose crying blood._

_The man turned away from him and walked into the twilight, the fire of the boy's past life burning behind him. His last words haunted Squall for the rest of his life…_

_"If you ever decide that you'd like to kill me… to get revenge... know my name. I am Godo, the wolf of Avalanche. Never forget. Never…"_

---

Squall jerked up, gasping hard as if he'd just raced a mile. Sweat was streaking down his coffee-colored hair, and he pushed it back up his forehand, leaving his hand over his eyes as he fought to breathe normally. His heart flailed in his chest, battering against his ribs. How long had it been since he'd had that nightmare? He didn't need to be reminded of his duty to his clan.

"Hey, are you ok?" A gentle touch on his shoulder startled him, and the man flinched and stared at the intruder. Yuffie was kneeling near his bed, her face pale and worried in the striped moonlight that slipped between the window's blinds. Had she been there the whole time?

She swept her hand over his forehead, feeling for a temperature. Catching nothing, she stood and eyed him. He turned his face away from her scrutinizing look, his strikingly beautiful cobalt eyes full of misery.

"I never caught your name, you know," the young woman said as she perched beside him on the moon-dappled mattress.

"...Leon."

"Leon, huh? I guess someone screwed up at registration." She flipped his stolen ID card between her nimble fingers, complete with a photo and a strip of print that clearly labeled him as _Leonhart, Squall; Lieutenant. _

He snatched for it, but quick hands maneuvered it away from his. Jumping to her feet, Yuffie grinned at the vexed officer. If she kept her captor here for much longer, he might die of either nightmares or boredom. "Come on, _Squall. _I'll take you outside for a while. I'm Yuffie, by the way." She tossed him the ID card, and adjusted her knitted yellow scarf before skipping towards the door.

"What am I, a dog going for a walk?" Squall tugged on his boots and trailed after her, glad for his heavy leather jacket and pants when the first blast of chilly air bit at his face. "And I told you to call me Leon."

Ignoring him, she strolled out onto the porch of the cabin, and he couldn't help but feel slightly amazed at her ability to stay warm in polar weather clothed only an oversized yellow sweater, khaki shorts, and a silver headband. Snow crunched beneath her light boots as she stood under the frosty sprinkle, snowflakes nestling in her hair like white birds as she visually scouted the shadowy hills of Avalanche.

"Aren't you cold?" he questioned as he leaned up against the wall of the wooden cottage. Always the cautious soldier, he absorbed the surroundings -- acre upon acre of rolling woodland to the west against a horizon of mountains; the windows of nearby dwellings lit up like warm, square eyes.

"Nope," she replied, still scanning the landscape. "I use fire magic. It's really useful, you know, living up here." Yuffie caught the look of fleeting disbelief on his face. "What?"

"I still don't believe in magic," he obstinately said.

She gave him an incredulous look. "Are you crapping me? Even after you've seen people turn into wolves and heal people in seconds with their bare hands?"

The man resisted the amused smile which nearly crept onto his lips. "I crap you not."

With a soft huff of irritation she returned to the porch, and reached up on her tiptoes to touch his face with one ungloved hand. He started at the heat and physical contact, but didn't back away.

"See? You channel the fire magic through your body so that it keeps your warm."

"Right," he said, trying to remember when last a female had ever been so bold towards him. Usually, the fierce look in his eyes scared women away, despite his good looks. It'd probably been the day he'd met Rinoa, the rich, pretty, slightly insane communications officer who had a bad habit of pouncing on him whenever he walked through dark hallways. But he'd never experienced a weird, tingling feeling quite like this when anyone touched him.

"What're you just standing there for?" asked Yuffie, who's hand was on the doorknob. "I said we should go back inside."

"Right," repeated Squall, deciding the feeling came from displacement and lack of sleep. "I'm coming."

---

Squall sat on the tree stump, the long spears of emerging grass brushing against his shoulders as they waved in the wind. He watched as the two boys fought viciously, their key-shaped weapons clashing again and again, glinting in the midday sun.

For a month already Avalanche had been his home, and he'd quickly learned the customs of the busy village either through observation or Yuffie, because as an outsider, neither Sora, Riku, or any of the other villagers for that matter, wanted anything to do with him. Early in the morning before the sun awoke, Squall would watch merchants setting up booths in the market, where they would sell items completely foreign to him to visitors from smaller towns -- potions, wands, and enchanted jewelry, as well as swords, shields, and food.

Squall learned that not all of Avalanche's magicians could shape shift, only those involved in the military or people from high-ranking clans. Each clan was represented by the animal that its members chose to become, and many clans had chosen the wolf for its intelligence, speed, stealth, and power. He figured this would be important information, if he ever returned to the city and Shinra.

The scent of vanilla startled him, and Squall furtively focused on Yuffie, who had just flopped down beside him. The breeze tousled her dark locks like an overzealous uncle, and he still marveled about how she only needed to wear a green turtleneck, yellow scarf, and black, knee-length cargos to keep out the cold. She was staring out over the slushy ground, where new, tender grass stalks were like tentative fingers reaching for the warmth of the sun, to where her two close friends sparred. His eyes shot upward as Riku delivered a ferocious kick to his friend's ribs. Sora shot backwards, lost his grip on the keyblade, rolled a few times in the dirt and stayed facedown with a groan.

"The score's 29 to 33, Sora," laughed the other, brushing a streak of blood from his shoulder. Turning away from his opponent, he looked over the melting land and when his eyes settled on the lieutenant, his aquamarine eyes turned to ice. Clearly, he had not forgiven Squall for his attempt to kill off their squad. His eyes glinted like steel as he strolled over to where Squall and Yuffie sat.

"Hey, Leon," said Riku, casting his eyes none-too-kindly over the other male. "You wanna spar?"

Squall paused, squeezing the leather grips of his weapon tightly. Maybe he could beat some respect into the runt. Rolling gracefully to his feet, he followed Riku into the mire of melting ice.

"You know… they just might end up killing each other," mumbled Sora from behind Yuffie. Palpable tension crackled like lightning between the two fighters.

The girl thought fast. Jumping to her feet, she inserted herself between Riku and Squall as they raised their weapons. "Hey, guys, let's make this a two-on-two! Me and Squall, versus the Pansy Twins." Riku's lips twitched with irritation. He hated that nickname.

"Fine," the white-haired boy said. He gestured Sora to the side, where they grimly huddled, commencing battle strategies as if they were two generals about to wage war. The Gunblade wielder didn't try to hide his irritation from Yuffie.

"I told you to call me Leon," he growled.

"And I told _you _to stop picking fights with Riku," she retorted. Counting her shuriken with nimble fingers, she then unfastened her Conformer, and adjusted her silver headband. "Ok, listen up," she said, gesturing to their opponents with her bladed weapon. "Those two idiots over there are a lot tougher than they look. So first, we gotta knock out Sora, 'cause he knows Curaga, Firaga, and Thundaga, and some other really nasty spells which he won't hesitate to try and kick our butts with. Plus, he can summon, and God knows I don't want to go against Simba again…"

"Huh? Summoning?"

"…Ok, forget it. You go after Riku, and I'll deal with Sora." The new partners ambled into the circle of rocks that served as an arena.

"If you fall out of the ring or are knocked down, you lose," dictated Sora, the self-nominated referee. "Ready…Set…And…Go!"

The two boys raced right past Yuffie and blitzed Squall with keyblades raised. Burning with blue fury the Gunblade hummed with power as it extended into Overdrive. Squall locked weapons with Riku, surprised by the slender boy's skillful parry. But he hadn't become a lieutenant for nothing. Forcing his sword into the teeth of the key, he dropped his Gunblade. Riku sagged forward, surprised by the sudden weight of both weapons. Placing a boot against his opponent's chest and swiftly unlocking his blade, the Shinra officer shoved Riku out of the stone ring.

Yuffie was fairing well with Sora until he'd decided to corner her with constant Firagas. The Keyblade wielder might have won, had it not been for Squall's sudden appearance behind him. A rough hand reached out and plucked him of off the ground by the back of his black hood. Almost carelessly, Squall tossed the brunette out of the ring. The battle was over in record time.

"Unfair tactics," muttered Riku, rubbing his bruised ribcage.

"That really hurt," complained Sora, touching his neck where he'd nearly been strangled.

"Nice!" congratulated Yuffie, as she grabbed Squall's hands and forced him into a victory dance with her. "This is the start of a beautiful partnership, Squallie-chan."

"It's Leon," he mumbled.

---

Winter was determined to make a final stand against the oncoming warmth and renewal of spring. Flurries of white tumbled to earth, drifting in lazy circles. Lotus pink, crimson, and blaze orange clouds smeared the evening sky as though some ethereal painter had daubed them onto his canvas. Snow blanketed the tops of homes and trees like thick white frosting on wooden cakes. Frost embroidered windowpanes, catching the ember glow of the retreating sun, and the powdery virgin snow did not crunch or whine beneath shoes.

"G'morning!" Yuffie's breath rose in small, frosted clouds as she flopped beside Squall on the glacial hill. He granted the girl a small, rare smile that made shivers run down her spine. Ever since the fight with Riku and Sora, his cold attitude had melted like the snow that was slowly leaving the village with patches of greenery and warmth. The two boys had stopped enlisting the village kids to throw rocks at him or tap loudly on his windows and run in the middle of the night. In fact, her teammates seemed genuinely pleased to have an older male around, since neither of their fathers were alive anymore. They enjoyed sparring with him and listened avidly to his narratives about Shinra's army and the city, Sora nodding with wide eyes and Riku firing off questions. But today he appeared distant. His eyes roamed restlessly about the hills, as if he were waiting for something.

But then again, maybe he was just apprehensive about meeting Yuffie's father, also known as Godo, the wolf of Avalanche. Today, he was finally arriving from his long campaign in Crimson, a powerful village of magicians which had recently defected as Shinra's allies and joined Avalanche's side in the war. But the man's detachedness and unrest made her uneasy, like she had swallowed spoiled milk. For one thing, she thought it strange that he was carrying his gun sword around with him today.

"I'm glad Pops is coming back, at least for a while, anyways," she rambled, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence between them. "It'll be nice to see him, I guess, even though I know he's gonna make some dumb comment about how much taller I am when I haven't grown an inch. But he's been real mysterious lately, in his letters, you know? Keeps saying he's got a surprise for me or something."

Squall glanced, and for a fraction of a second Yuffie thought she saw fleeting guilt in his eyes. Then he reached for his lion head pendant, gloved fingers brushing lightly across it. "Yeah?" he said, distracted.

Never in his twenty-two years had Squall ever felt so guilty about killing someone. He was angry with himself over it. How could he even be having second thoughts about murdering the bastard who'd killed everyone he'd loved as a child? But it was true that doubt was gnawing at him, and he knew the reason why. Squall had not factored Godo's daughter into the equation. And how, he asked himself, would he ever be able to look Yuffie in the eyes again after he shot her father? Even so, as the sun peered above the horizon, Squall had meticulously loaded bullets into the Gunblade, and listened with a heavy heart as the slide snapped back and made a sound like the slap of a judge's gavel. He'd sentenced himself to more years of loneliness and self-disgust. _It doesn't matter_, he tried to convince himself. _You don't need anyone. And today's the day when you can finally repay Godo for the death of your family._

He leaned his shoulder against hers, and now the ninja was sure she saw guilt etched over his sharp, handsome face. "What's up?" she asked worriedly.

"I just wanted to tell you --"

The rumble of hooves broke into the conversation. Yuffie stood up and peered over the plains at the arriving horse-drawn caravans. From here, she could recognize the emblems of Avalanche, Crimson, and Katakari. The parade of rebel wagons thundered into the village gates, wheels spraying sheets of snow as they came to a squealing halt. People were pouring out of their homes and shops to glimpse and pay respects to the arriving leaders.

"Squall? What were you saying?" Yuffie turned, and yelped in surprise when she came face-to-face with Sora.

"What's your problem?" whined the younger brunette, plugging the ear that Yuffie had just squeaked into. Riku lingered nearby, fixing his silver tresses with one gloved hand.

"Where'd Sq -- Leon go?" she asked.

"I dunno," said Sora, tugging on his red jumper. "But here comes your dad."

Godo strode forward, his magnificent black and gold kimono swishing in his quick step. His worn, tanned face broke into a gentle smile as he approached his daughter. Behind him trailed his usual posse of guards, and a man Yuffie did not recognize. She smarted saluted her father, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Yuffie, Yuffie," he laughed, waving away her military greeting with a hug. "Every time I see you, I swear you've grown another foot. How have you been doing?"

"Great, Pops," she said, pulling out of the embrace. She could hear a plot in her father's voice. Something was amiss. "So where's my gift?" the ninja joked lightly, scanning Godo's smiling face with a sense of impending doom.

"Ah, yes, I haven't forgotten. But first, let me introduce you to someone." The unfamiliar man drew forward, dressed in a flowing ruby-studded cape. His blond hair was cropped and he was boyishly attractive, but his fierce red eyes revealed his true age and nature. Yuffie noted that his left hand was equipped with a long-clawed glove.

"Um… nice to meet you," said Yuffie, quickly shaking his safer-looking right hand.

"The pleasure is mine, Yuffie-sama," he replied with a voice that reminded her of fine, polished wood.

"This is Raite, the leader of Crimson," announced a beaming Godo. "And next week, he'll be your husband."

---

_How weird… I also have a feeling of impending doom…Now that you've read, review!_


	4. Listening to a White Wind

_All right! Here's chapter 4, hooray! Thank you to all those who've reviewed so far for this story; you guys are great! Anyways... anybody wondering why this chapter was delayed for so long? Well, probably not, but in case you were, I have one word for you: hurricanes. I spent all my afternoons putting up shutters on all the windows of my house, being dragged to the store to buy crackers, putting patio furniture in the house, my electricity was out for days... you get my drift. Don't blame me, blame Mother Nature, she delayed this chapter! And school! Blame education; it's the enemy! _

_This is a relatively short chapter, because it's mostly transition... with a tasty hint of Squffie. The next one will be much longer, and hopefully posted much more promptly than this one._

_Anyways...my blurb is done. Enjoy, and don't forget to review. _

---

Heartscape

Chapter 4: Listening to a White Wind

---

Water drummed against the rocks and the ninja's back as she breathed hard as if the air wouldn't come to her. Yuffie growled in rage, and slammed her fist against the steamy water, as if it had been the creature that caused her pain.

She dunked herself under the frothy water and paddled towards the lip of the pool, still mentally cursing. Even the usually soothing mint-scented water did nothing for the rage that quaked inside her chest. The girl wrapped her small frame in a white towel, and pondered, thoughts flying in her mind like leaves in a tornado.

"..._he'll be your husband..." Godo was still smiling, as though he didn't realize that he'd just cut out his daughter's heart._

"_No..." The syllable escaped her lips in a puff of foggy breath; her hands clenching into fists as she stepped back. _

"_Don't be rude, now. You don't want to insult your fiancé, do you?" Raite glanced at her, his sharp red eyes piercing hers with calm frostiness. _

_Yuffie's wrath rushed from her mouth like a volcanic eruption. "I don't KNOW this guy! I met him, what, five minutes ago?!" She stabbed a finger at Raite, who didn't seem perturbed in the least. "And I REFUSE to be married off to some guy who I don't know!"_

_Silence weighed down the air like fog. Her father's eyes hardened as he stared at his fuming daughter, all trace of kindness fleeing. "I won't tolerate disobedience Yuffie. You will do what I tell you to do because I am your father and the leader of this village--"_

"_NO! You can't make me do anything, you bastard! All my life you've been tugging me around like I'm on strings! Well, this is where I draw the line! You can just forget it!"_

"_Yuffie!" her father barked after her retreating figure. The wolf leapt over the heads of the astonished crowd, paws silent on snow as she disappeared into the snowy twilight._

Yuffie slipped on a green halter top and yellow shorts, and wrapped her silver headband around her wet tresses. As her fingers brushed against the cool fabric, she thought of the mother she'd never known.

"No time to get all sentimental, Yuffie," the ninja reminded herself. "What it is time to do, though, is to think of a plan."

---

Squall sat with his back against a tree, his long legs stretched out in front of him. The lights of the village were distant twinkling fireflies on an ebony backdrop as the warrior absently stroked the blade of the weapon in his lap.

Shock had made him miss his chance at revenge. Crouched upon the roof of a house, he had heard the entire conversation between Yuffie and Godo. He wasn't sure what he felt worse about: the fact that she was being forced to marry someone she didn't know, or that he hadn't gotten the chance to kill Godo in the ensuing chaos... The lieutenant shook his head, and raked a gloved hand through his hair. _Why does it matter what she does with herself?_ he roughly berated himself. _She'll never talk to me again after I kill her father, anyways._

Seeking to distract himself, the young man cupped one palm and watched with intrigue as a small flame sparked to life in his hand. Ever since Yuffie had touched him the first night he had awoken in Avalanche, he'd realized he could now summon small flames through his hands. Squall had secretly nursed his tiny flames into smoldering fireballs, and was proud that he'd figured out how to do it on his own. The fighter smiled wanly as the small fire hopped and skipped across his fingers, creating a deep, tingling sensation in his flesh. He couldn't help but wonder whether Yuffie had intentionally given him power over fire.

_So you can do magic now, huh?_

Squall turned, startled, and looked into the blue-green orbs of Riku, who sat behind him, pristine white fur splattered in dark-hued shadow and glowing moonlight. Sora lay beside his friend, paws crossed almost demurely under his head.

"I didn't hear you," murmured Squall.

Riku offered him a wolfish grin. _Human ears are pretty weak... either that or you're getting soft. _He watched with interest as the boys stood, their forms shifting and blurring like smeared paints as the morphing fog enveloped and hid them. Coarse animal fur rippled into soft human hair and skin, fangs dwindled, and black nails whitened and retracted, leaving two human boys in front of him as the mist cleared.

"I'd like to learn how to do that," Squall said, shifting his sword onto the leafy ground. Riku smiled.

"It's not so hard to do," he replied. "We'll teach you how to do it, maybe."

They stepped to his side, perching beside him on the ledge. Squall eyed them suspiciously as Riku and Sora flanked him, giving the Shinra officer pointed looks.

"What?" he questioned, feeling the amiable mood dissipate.

"Well?" asked Riku, his aquamarine eyes intense.

"What?" Squall repeated.

The brunette flopped back, gazing at the flickering stars from beneath thick bangs. "What're we gonna do?"

"About Yuffie," Riku added softly, pushing one hand through his pale mane. "About what happened today."

Squall tried not to flinch as he thought of slaughtering Godo and the expression that would be on her face when his Gunblade ripped his body in two. "What about it?" he snapped coldly, feeling slightly sick. "I'm not interfering. Her father can do as he wishes with her. As a captive in this place, it's none of my business." The man stood and brushed the leaves from his clothes, grasping the hilt of the Gunblade like a lifeline. His body felt like a strung bow, taut and angry.

Riku rolled to his feet in one motion, and gripped Squall's arm, suddenly aggressive. "Leon," he said, and the man turned his head to look at the white-haired boy, dark eyes blazing. He tried to wrench his arm away but Riku doggedly clutched harder.

"As a friend of Yuffie's, it's very much your business. Don't act like you don't care about her. Not now, not when we... when she... really needs you the most!" His words froze Squall's insides. Care...? Yes, he did care. When the hell had that happened? For such a long time, he'd only thought of himself. When had he slipped out of his laissez-faire attitude; his familiar façade of cold eyes?

Riku let go, sensing Squall's indecision. "She won't stay here," he said, his voice mellow with sadness. "Godo-sama won't be able to tie her down long enough to marry that guy. Yuffie'll do something crazy, like run off to the closest city. We can't go with her... Godo's men are watching everything we do. But they wouldn't suspect you." Riku locked eyes with his older male. "All the cities belong to Shinra. She won't last on her own."

"So you want me to go with her? No one will trust me either. They'll think I'm on Avalanche's side in this war."

Sora raised himself onto his elbows, bits of leaves falling from his brown locks. "_Are_ you on our side?"

A pause, and then, "Does it even matter anymore?"

Riku let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "You'll go with her then?"

"As soon I take care of some unfinished business here."

"Business...?" Sora inquired, but Squall had already ambled off, brooding the situation he'd gotten himself into.

---

Yuffie crept towards her small house, slithering through the snow-peppered beds of grass and the shadows of magnolia trees that would bloom gold and pink in the spring. The ninja's lip curled down in anger as she watched one of her father's lackey pound noisily on the front door, and after a minute's, strolling briskly away.

"Bastard," she hissed after his retreating form. Prowling towards the back of the house, she stooped down and lifted the small flowerpot that graced the back door. Retrieving the spare key, she deftly unlocked and entered her abode.

The smell and warmth of fresh baked bread assaulted Yuffie's senses. Flipping the light switch, the ninja moved around the sparse Asian furnishings of her home to find Aerith in the kitchen, quietly closing the oven door. Tugging off the timeworn red mittens, the healer smiled at her younger friend.

"Aerith...?" Yuffie gawked.

"Sit down, sit down," she said, gesturing towards the squat, Japanese table in the living room. "The food's almost ready."

Yuffie crossed the cherry wood floor of the kitchen, and brushed aside the bead curtain that separated the rooms. Cloud knelt at the cluttered table, a book open in front of him and a cup of tea steaming nearby. He glanced up from his reading, face impassive like a statue's.

"Well, make yourself at home," she muttered, pushing a pile of magazines and a couple of stray shuriken off of the table.

"It's not necessary to tell me. I believe your tea biscuits are stale, by the way. I threw them out for you."

Aerith jaunted in, balancing a tray on each hand and one on her head. She arranged the platters of warm sweet bread, baked ham, and salad in front of them, along with plates and silverware.

"I thought you guys were going to Katakari as soon as Squ... I mean, Leon, got better," Yuffie began, jabbing the serving fork into a chunk of meat. She hadn't realized, in her fog of rage, how hungry she was.

"We were, but we decided to leave with the village leaders who were arriving with Godo." Aerith regarded the ninja, sympathy glowing in her intense green eyes. "Yuffie, I'm sorry."

"About what?" she played ignorance, brushing a strand of dark hair from her face as glared death at the table.

"About your engagement... Obviously, you're upset about it, and with good reason, but you have to remember that your father is just trying to keep the village's best interests in mind--"

"And that's all he's every cared about!"

"Yuffie... a leader must do what's best for everyone. A marriage between two prominent villages will strengthen the ties between allies and give Avalanche a better chance at winning the war."

"I _understand _that!" she yelled, her fragile patience snapping like a twig. "But did he tell me I was who I was marrying? Did he even think about informing me that I was getting married in the first place? No! He decides to beat around the bush and tell me today, in front of _everyone_, when he should have been telling me in the privacy of my own home! I didn't even get a say in my own engagement!"

She dropped the fork, head pounding with anger. Grabbing her equipment pack from its spot on the couch, the ninja stormed towards the door.

"Yuffie, where are you going?" asked Aerith, worry ringing in her clear voice. She too ignored the food in front of her.

"I've gotta get out of here before I snap and stab somebody."

The slam of the closing door resounded in the small house like a gunshot, heated and final.

---

She sloshed through the half-melted snow, sneakers squelching noisily as she marched away from her house. Touching her face, Yuffie realized that a single tear had slipped from her eye. Swiping it away with a furious curse, the brunette bolted through the trees and past the occasional lit house, running until exhaustion ate away the burning wrath and sorrow in her mind. Aerith and Cloud didn't understand. Riku and Sora were nowhere to be found. Where was a good friend when she needed one?

The steady rhythm of her feet slowed and stopped. As she bent over, panting lightly, Yuffie recognized the familiar wooden dwelling at which she'd arrived. Approaching the door, she peered into the darkened windows. _He's probably asleep at this hour..._

"You know... it's kind of rude to visit people unannounced so late at night. Normal people are usually asleep at this time." She whipped out the Conformer and spun, eyes dilated with surprise. Squall was sitting on a large flat rock, slowly rubbing two fingers across the scar

Yuffie joined him on the boulder, and for a while the two fighters sat side by side in companionable silence as a wind rattled the branches of the bare trees. Time ticked by, marked only by the swish of the breeze and the occasional hoot of a nearby owl. The warmth and closeness of their bodies reminded Squall of something he'd buried long ago. In the quiet comfort of the night, he studied her face. It was elfishly heart-shaped, with fine cheekbones and pale, smooth skin, her eyes like brown gems under dark, sweeping bangs. Feeling heat flush his face, he abruptly looked away. Now was not the time to be thinking about hormones. _What's wrong with me lately?_

Taking a quick glimpse of the Gunblade user's face, she saw that he looked pensive, cobalt eyes deep in thought.

"Squall?"

He seemed startled, then annoyed. "Don't call me that. What is it?"

"You look kinda stressed out. What's up?"

He twisted his head to look at her, and she bit back a gasp at the uncharacteristically benign expression on his face. "We have to leave. If not tonight, then soon."

"_We?_" she repeated, astonished.

"Yes," he said, jumping off of the rock and strolling forward before turning to face her again. "You. Me. We." She sensed his agitation and wondered what his problem was. "You're not going to leave Avalanche alone, are you? That's suicidal, considering the number of soldiers and monsters wandering around," he added.

"What's gotten you all chivalrous, all of a sudden?"

"Don't get me wrong. You're going to do something for me, in return." Yuffie felt herself blush at the intense look in his powerful blue eyes.

"H-hey! I'm not that kind of girl!"

Squall's eye twitched. "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was I want you to teach me how to transform into an animal form."

The girl visibly relaxed, feeling an odd mixture of relief with a twinge of disappointment. "Huh? What happened to the whole anti-magic attitude?"

"It's a useful skill," he went on, ignoring her comment. "Is it difficult to learn?"

"Are you joking? It's going to take a few days to even get the basics of a technique like that. The first thing you'd have to do is visit the shrine of Hevan, which is only a few miles from the village gates... Hey! Are you listening to me?!"

The blue-eyed man turned to regard her, amusement flickering behind his stoic expression as he continued walking away. "What are you just standing there for? If you're going to teach me, then we're going to start tonight."

"Who's the teacher and who's the student here? I wanted to get some sleep, at least, before we start. Damn, Squall, slow down!"

"It's Leon," he remarked, his rapid steps not halting in the least.

She hurried after him, cursing the way her day was going.

---

It was about to get far worse.

Raite was leaning against the gates, a liminal shadow among shadows. Yuffie flinched at the silent probing of his ember red eyes, her hand straying instinctively toward the dangling leather shuriken pouch. Her fiancé flicked away the last ashes of a cigarette and walked towards them, seeming to glide.

"Good afternoon," he murmured, nodding politely to the pair.

The Gunblade glided from its sheath, its honed tip hovering only feet from the blond man. "Move," Squall hissed, the sight of Yuffie's fiance making his blood boil for a reason he didn't quite understand.

"You're being rude. Won't you pause to chat with me a while?"

"I'll only ask you one more time." The blade moved within inches from Raite's throat.

The leader of Crimson gave an unbothered glance to the Gunblade. "Don't be hasty," he said slowly, as if tasting his words. "It would be better for both of us if we were allies. We are, after all, bitter towards a mutual enemy. Is that not correct, Leonhart?"

The brunette started, sapphire eyes widening. His weapon lowered, if only slightly. "How did you know my name?"

"That pendant you're wearing. A certain mark of your kith."

Squall touched the cool steel of the lion head chain that graced his neck, the sole artifact from his tragically ended family. "What about it?" he asked, suspicion heavy in his voice.

Raite's eyebrows knitted in puzzlement. "You're from the Leonhart clan, are you not?"

The lieutenant smiled bitterly. "That's right, but if you're looking for any survivors, then I'm sorry to disappoint you. I'm the last one left."

The blonde nodded thoughtfully. "Of course. The Leonhart clan was wiped out by Shinra twelve years ago."

---

Bum bum bum! Oh, who was expecting that?! Anyone? Anyone? Leave a review!


End file.
